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Messages - Jhaeli

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: New Mistborn One Cover Art
« on: February 20, 2008, 02:13:23 AM »
I definitely like it. Very eye-catching.

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Poll Time!
« on: February 14, 2008, 06:49:32 PM »
I would totally be a Tineye. :) Being able to perceive above and beyond would be brilliant.

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Books / Re: Help recommend some books for my 12-year-old nephew
« on: February 14, 2008, 06:41:05 PM »
As much as I enjoyed the Lioness quartet, there are references to sex. Just be advised if you do go down that path.
Quite right. I had completely forgotten about that. However, if memory serves, the Immortal series doesn't. And I know that the Circle of Magic series is free of it.

I'm an avid fan of Tamora Pierce and began reading them around the same age as your nephew - as long as he doesn't mind female heroines, than the "Tortall Quartets" (which is Lioness/Immortals/Protector of the Small series, plus some new ones out lately) are very, very good. They're intended for mid- to older teens, and while they do contain some references to sex, there is nothing blatant or scandalous about it. It looks more at the emotional side of the relationship and how it affects the character. [Which could be a good kind of educational.] So depending on how mature a reader your nephew is, you may want to wait a couple years.

And yes, there are references in both Lioness and Immortals - less so in Protector of the Small, but still there.

You may want to start with the Circle of Magic series, which was intended for early teen years, even pre-teen. There's no 'mature' references in it and it's a great series with humourous, well-written characters and a compelling storyline. There's also a sequel quartet for it too, I believe, called the Circle Opens.

Aside from those, I totally agree with those who mentioned Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series - excellent, excellent read. David Eddings - depends again on how mature of a reader your nephew is. It's a fairly straightforward [and clean] storyline and I read them while I was young, but it was written for an adult audience.

Have you tried some other classics, like the Chronicles of Narnia? I would mention Harry Potter, but I've never read them so I don't know what kind of references there are in them.

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Everything Else / Re: Random career question......
« on: February 14, 2008, 05:17:24 PM »
1. What did you want to be when you were little?

I wanted to be a marine biologist - specifically, I wanted to study orcas. I love 'em. And yes, this was before I saw 'Free Willy' as a child. That only made it 'worse'. :P I wanted to do this all the way up to Grade 12 and had even looked into what University I would go to. I later decided to do something different.

2. What do you want to be? (Doesn't have to be what you're doing right now)

Ideally, I'd like to get into journalism, voice/host for documentaries, or anything really relating to media and marine science. Or just science in general. I think that would be fantastic.

3. What are you doing?

I'm the morning news anchor/reporter at a small market radio station. :) Which is actually a lot of fun, I love my job.

4. What are you going to be? (For those studying for a certain career or changing imminently)

Well, I am settled into the start of my career in news media - but to be honest, I'd like to extend myself to possibly writing for magazines or newspapers, etc. which is a different kind of writing than I do now. (They call it "Writing for the Eye" versus "Writing for the Ear".) Being Canadian, I'd like to upgrade my French into more than just a smattering leftover from high school.

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Rants and Stuff / Re: Happy Things 2008:Generation X [part deux]
« on: January 24, 2008, 06:58:00 PM »
One of my bosses hasn't been harping on me as much as usual - in fact, where he used to allegedly say things about me behind my back (like calling me lazy) as well as hint at things then deny he was accusing me of anything, now we're actually having decent conversations where we can find a bit of common ground. He's also been giving me some compliments on my news and sports reporting - which is unusual at my station. It's been a huge weight off my back to not have to worry so much about him.

Of course, I may just not be hearing about things he's saying anymore... :P

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Facebook
« on: January 18, 2008, 09:24:51 PM »
It's essentially a new avenue for all the social posturing that goes on in High School.

I have to admit, I use it myself, but networking is a part of my career in radio. I also use it to keep in touch with family back home in the big city, as I moved last June to a smaller city about four hours away. So it can be useful in that way!

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Rants and Stuff / Re: Baby!
« on: January 18, 2008, 08:43:50 PM »
Aww. She's adorable. :)

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Everything Else / Re: volunteerism
« on: January 17, 2008, 06:38:16 PM »
I don't know what you have down there, but here in Canada, I volunteered at a Riding Stable just outside of the city, where a small group of people helped disabled kids go horseback riding once a week. It was a lot of fun, took just a couple hours, and got me outside. It was also theraputic for the kids. I did it for a few years, then ended up having to quit in my last year of high school. Sadly, last I heard, they couldn't get volunteers and disbanded.

Like I said, I'm not familiar with your area, but there's always little groups that you could dig around a bit for that need volunteers, even more than the well-known or popular ones.

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Rants and Stuff / Re: Baby!
« on: January 15, 2008, 12:57:17 PM »
Big congratulations!

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Movies and TV / Re: The Hobbit!!!!!
« on: January 14, 2008, 03:19:50 PM »
Y'know, those are some good examples.

I'm not a J-Lo fan, but I will admit I did like the movie that was almost like a remake of the Julia Roberts one... gimme a moment... Enough. That's it. She actually did a decent job in that one. I'm not really sure if she's an actress turned singer or singer turned actress though.

As a sidenote, I loved Labyrinth as a kid. It's been a while, but I'd love to see it again - I'd stick it beside my copy of The Dark Crystal. Hehe. Wasn't Bowie's character supposed to really eccentric and a bit creepy? I'm pretty sure the feeling it gives you was intentional, that's how they made the character.

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Books / Re: How many books to do you read?
« on: January 14, 2008, 02:57:29 PM »
Depends on what I've got handy and what I'm in the mood for. If I've got no new books handy, I'll go and re-read one from my collection; then when I do find a new one, I'll put the old one down to read the new one, then pick it back up after I'm done.

I can have a few going at once sometimes, but when I get into a book, I don't want to read any others, so I'll put them aside for some time. Tends to depend on how engrossing the main one I'm reading is!

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Video Games / MUDs - Do you?
« on: January 14, 2008, 02:54:30 PM »
I'm a big fan of playing text MUDs online, versus the graphic MMORPGs. The fact that it's an RPG that is all text means you've got extra wiggle room for creativity - much fun. It's also easier on an older computer like mine.

I was curious if I was the only one? If you're not sure what I'm talking about, here's an example of one that I play - http://www.achaea.com

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Everything Else / Re: Cool Stuff Found on the Internet, again
« on: January 10, 2008, 03:30:15 PM »
That looks pretty damn neat. Reminds me of Organized Crime, a group game where you have to find the two secret killers before they kill off all the innocents. Much fun.

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« on: January 10, 2008, 03:19:56 PM »
You must've heard of Bioware and the way they add dialogue to their RPGs - actually, they're one of my favourite developers.

At the same time, I completely agree with making it similar to Assassin's Creed; I'm an RPG kind of gal, but I really really love that game. The one thing lacking was the dialogue. You didn't have much input in it.

I think even if you were playing a character from the story, there are ways to have different dialogue options [including influencing through brass and zinc]. For example - you could try to convince a group of Skaa guards to convert (later in the game, obviously) by playing with their emotions. Or you could try to push a group of Skaa to join the rebellion. There's lots of ways that I think those two metals could fit in, in specialized situations, rather than a regular attack.

Looking at influence, persuasion, etc. in games like Neverwinter Nights or Knights of the Old Republic, as an example.

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Everything Else / Re: Just have to Share
« on: January 09, 2008, 01:43:59 PM »
Although my geek/gamer life hasn't followed the same pattern, I can completely relate to that. I grew up with a computer geek Dad who was the IT and Network Admin guy before it became cool; I loved spending days with him fiddling with the computer and I used to be incredibly amused by the old detailed defrag program with all the colourful blinking blocks.

I remember him getting me an old Apple that had the basics of...BASIC. Haha. It was amusing. I wish I could have learned that in school too, instead of just keyboarding.

Awesome, awesome article. Go you! Anyone else notice that it's so much easier to find fellow geeks and gamers AFTER you get out of high school? I had one gamer friend in high school; now I work with a bunch of them and we all trade games or have Wii and BYOB nights. Much fun.

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